There’s been plenty of rumors circling around that there’ll be the formation of a collegiate aged MLS Next League. As I imagine, this will be hopefully a MLS u21 or u23 league. What will be the organization of this league? Will all MLS teams participate? Will USL teams participate? Will there be satellite teams? Will there be more of a focus on national or regional conferences? What will be the association with universities.... also scholarship opportunities? What will be the rules around teams promoting players to the senior team? Can the senior teams loan players to the youth teams? Will there be a complete pullout from the USL? Personally, I’m very excited about the idea of a much more official and legitimate league that’s a superior option to the PDL/NPSL. Also, I would like to see this league bridge the gap in youth development from the ages of 18-22. I believe this could be one of the best things that have happened to move our nation to becoming a powerhouse.
If you have access this article will lay out many answers to questions above https://theathletic.com/3071305/202...y-differences-from-mls-structure-sources-say/
There was a breakdown of the MLS Next Pro roster rules in the Athletic...........if you have a subscription. https://theathletic.com/3071305/202...y-differences-from-mls-structure-sources-say/ If not, most of the MLS fan groups have a discussion. https://www.dirtysouthsoccer.com/at...402/report-mls-next-pro-roster-rules-revealed
1) Hopefully USLC and USL1 clubs get in on the action. But I wouldn’t let just anyone else into the league. 2) I hope this has a regional and National feel to it.... I.e. stoke the rivalry fire early, lower the burden on the players with travel, but have something at the end to get everyone’s attention. 3) Come up with a catchier name than MLS Next Pro. Too much going on and no one is saying all that all the time. MLS Classic? MLS Youth? MLS Super Youth League? Either way, from a marketing stand point, more needs to be done.
MLSNP is out recruiting clubs right now, they're likely not recruiting USL pro sides just yet but they are recruiting USL2 clubs. They're also very likely going after some NISA clubs as the league is anything but stable and two have academies in MLS Next.
I have a feeling this first year of MLS Pro is going to be a bit of "making it up as they go along." If you are wondering why this announcement hasn't happened yet. Word around the water cooler is that MLS told FCD not to announce anything player-related for MLS Next Pro because the rules are still being finalized. 🤷♂️ https://t.co/0hOASndQqx— 3rd Degree (@3rdDegreeNet) January 24, 2022
What I would like to see the ‘big picture’ of MLS Next Pro to look like.... MLS NEXT PRO LEAGUE EASTERN CONFERENCE Southeast +(5) MLS: Atlanta United, Charlotte FC, Nashville SC, Inter Miami, Orlando City +(5) USLC: Tampa Bay Rowdies, Charleston Battery, Birmingham Legion, Memphis 901, Miami FC* (relocation?) +(5) USL1: Greenville Triumph, Chattanooga Red Wolves, North Carolina FC, South Georgia Tormenta FC, Charlotte Independence* (relocation?) + (0) MLSNP: + Expansion candidates: Jackson, Starkville, Oxford, Knoxville, Mobile, Tuscaloosa, Huntsville, Auburn, Pensacola, Tallahassee, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Bradenton-Sarasota, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Daytona, Cape Coral, Columbia, Asheville, Greensboro, Wilmington, Winston-Salem, Durham, Chapel Hill, Fayetteville, Athens, Augusta, Savannah, Atlanta-Gwinnett (Silverbacks) League: 1st: Atlanta United Inter Miami Nashville SC Charlotte FC Orlando City Tampa Bay Rowdies Charleston Battery Birmingham Legion Memphis 901 Miami FC* (relocation?) > Jacksonville Greenville Triumph Chattanooga Red Wolves 2nd: North Carolina FC South Georgia Tormenta FC Charlotte Independence* (relocation?) > Greensboro Chapel Hill, NC Winston-Salem, NC Athens, GA Gainesville, FL Tallahassee, FL Bradenton-Sarasota, FL Columbia, SC Oxford, MS Knoxville, TN Mideast + (5) MLS: Columbus Crew, FC Cincinnati, Toronto FC, CF Montreal, Minnesota United + (4) USLC: Detroit City FC, Indy Eleven, Pittsburgh Riverhounds, Louisville City FC + (3) USL1: Fort Wayne FC, Lexington FC, Forward Madison + Expansion candidates: Cleveland, Akron, Toledo, Dayton, West Virginia, Ann Arbor, Lansing, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Evansville, South Bend, Bloomington, Green Bay, Ottawa, Mississauga, Quebec City, London, Kitchener, Hamilton, Thunder Bay, Harrisburg, State College League: 1st Columbus Crew FC Cincinnati Toronto FC CF Montreal Minnesota United Detroit City FC Indy Eleven Pittsburgh Riverhounds Louisville City FC Fort Wayne FC Lexington FC Forward Madison 2nd Cleveland, OH Akron, OH Dayton, OH Toledo, OH Ann Arbor, MI Lansing, MI Grand Rapids, MI South Bend, IN Bloomington, IN Morgantown, WV State College, PA Harrisburg, PA Northeast + (5) MLS: New England Revolution, New York City FC, New York Red Bulls, DC United, Philadelphia Union + (2) USLC: Queensboro FC, Hartford Athletic + (1) USL1: Richmond Kickers + (1) MLSNP: Rochester Rhinos + Expansion Candidates: Lehigh Valley, Allentown, Scranton, Baltimore, Annapolis, Charlottesville, Virginia Beach-Norfolk, Roanoke, Blacksburg, Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany, Hudson River Valley, Staten Island, Long Island, Trenton, New Haven, Bridgeport, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, Delaware, Worcester, Springfield, Boston proper League New England Revolution New York City FC New York Red Bulls DC United Philadelphia Union Queensboro FC Hartford Athletic Richmond Kickers Rochester Rhinos Baltimore, MD Lehigh Valley, PA Virginia Beach, VA 2nd Charlottesville, VA Hudson River Valley, NY Buffalo, NY Syracuse, NY New Haven, CT Kingston, RI Worcester, MA Burlington, VT Durham, NH Orono, ME Newark, DE College Park, MD WESTERN CONFERENCE Southwest + (5) MLS: LA Galaxy, Los Angeles FC, Austin FC, Houston Dynamo, FC Dallas + (7) USLC: El Paso Locomotive, New Mexico United, San Antonio FC, Rio Grande Valley FC, San Diego Loyal, Orange County FC, Phoenix Rising + (2) USL1: FC Tucson, Fort Worth + (0) MLSNP: + Expansion Candidates: Corpus Christi, Laredo, Killeen, Collegestation, Waco, Galveston, Beaumont, Nacogdoches, Tyler, Longview, Ventura County, San Fernando Valley, Riverside, Long Beach, Glendale-Pasadena, Tempe League: 1st LA Galaxy Los Angeles FC Austin FC Houston Dynamo FC Dallas El Paso Locomotive New Mexico United San Antonio FC Rio Grande Valley FC San Diego Loyal Orange County FC Phoenix Rising 2nd FC Tucson Fort Worth Waco, TX Corpus Christi, TX Laredo, TX Collegestation, TX Killeen, TX Riverside, CA Long Beach, CA Ventura County, CA San Fernando Valley, CA Glendale-Pasadena, CA Midwest + (5) MLS: Chicago Fire, Saint Louis City FC, Sporting Kansas City, Colorado Rapids, Real Salt Lake + (3) USLC: Colorado Springs Switchbacks, FC Tulsa, Oklahoma City Energy FC + (2) USL1: Union Omaha, Northern Colorado Hailstorm + (0) MLSNP: + Expansion Candidates: Fayetteville, Little Rock, Ozarks, Lincoln, Champaign, Rockford, Peoria, Des Moines, Topeka, Wichita, Norman, Stillwater, Boulder, Amarillo, Lubbock, Texarkana, Ogden, Provo, Dakotas, Montana, Wyoming, Boise, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Lawrence, Manhattan League 1st: Chicago Fire Saint Louis City FC Sporting Kansas City Colorado Rapids Real Salt Lake Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC Tulsa Oklahoma City Energy FC Union Omaha Northern Colorado Hailstorm New Orleans, LA Boise, ID 2nd Missoula, MT Cheyenne, WY Fayetteville, AR Baton Rouge, LA Champaign-Urbana, IL Norman, OK Wichita, KS Lawrence, KS Columbia, MO Des Moines, IA Lincoln, NE Amarillo, TX Northwest + (5) MLS: Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers, Vancouver Whitecaps, San Jose Earthquakes, Las Vegas (expansion) + (3) USLC: Sacramento Republic, Oakland Roots, Monterey Bay FC + (2) USL1: Spokane, Central Valley Fuego + (0) MLSNP: + Expansion Candidates: Reno, Carson City, Eugene, Salem, Tacoma, Yakima, Napa Valley, Santa Barbara, Berkeley, Bakersfield, Modesto, Stockton, San Francisco, North Bay, Redding, Santa Maria League 1st Seattle Sounders Portland Timbers Vancouver Whitecaps San Jose Earthquakes Las Vegas Sacramento Republic Oakland Roots Monterey Bay FC Spokane Central Valley Fuego Reno, NV Eugene, OR 2nd North Bay, CA Stockton, CA Modesto, CA Santa Barbara, CA Bakersfield, CA Berkeley, CA San Francisco, CA Tacoma, WA Olympia, WA Pullman, WA Yakima, WA Corvallis, OR
Are we going with MLSNP or MNP? I understand why the former but it's certainly a mouthful, whereas three letter acronyms seem like the ideal for a sports league. Just asking the important questions.
One thing that I would encourage is for expansion teams to be located in predominately college towns. And ideally, the MLS Next Pro club pays its players through tuition costs, books, housing, etc.
I struggle to see the benefits of the non-MLS teams. Is there enough TV/Radio money? Because pretty much all the MLS MNP teams will function like varsity/JV. Is there ever much of a following for Junior Varsity? Do people much care who the Junior Varsity champ is? I expect this to run at a loss for MLS Franchises. How do independents expect to stay in business?
It’s a fair point, and it’s definitely a point that will need to be considered moving forward. What I envision is that the USL clubs adopt a selling model as the main means of income revenue. And if clubs can see the benefit in that business model then I could see it really take off. For example, is it that far off to envision that say, the Greenville Triumph produce a Quinn Sullivan or Paxten Aaronson and sell them to Charlotte FC for a few million? I can. And if a USL club can regularly pump out talent that could compete in MLS and abroad then it could be very lucrative.
What I could see working: International teams with money locating a team in ethnic neighborhoods that are attracted to their brand (hate to use this, but Chivas USA). Since this league plays counter to the traditional FIFA calendar, it would allow teams like PSG to give some of their young, up and coming talent a team to play on over the summer (think NBA summer league). They get to establish fans in that area and could even start a youth academy to develop players to import to France. Think Barcelona AZ. There are large pockets of ethnic communities across the country. Put a Russian team near Sacramento, ect. You get the idea.
I don't see there being many independent teams in MLS Next Pro As it is only one of the teams is unaffiliated, and none of the expansion teams are. How would an unaffiliated team make any money whatsoever in this league? The whole point is that this is an intermediate reserve league for MLS players to develop in. A halfway house in between the academy and the first team. The teams will presumably barely care about the actual results. In the US soccer pyramid, it will technically the same level as USL League One. These independent teams you guys are talking about should join that league............not MLS Next Pro. Right now that league has 9 teams with 3 expansion teams on the way. Expansion teams are in Lexington (Kentucky), Fort Wayne (Indiana), and Spokane (Washington). People do know that the USL has their own academy setup and initiatives on the way. There really is little reason for a USL team to run a team in MLS Next Pro. https://www.uslsoccer.com/news_article/show/1104073
Obviously it's early days and this may not be settled yet, but does anyone have any sense whatsoever on what this is actually going to look like from a Game Day perspective? Will there be fans? Paying or otherwise. Will games be shown on ESPN+? Team YouTube channel with one camera at field level being operated by a 22 year old intern? These seem like the questions that will most shed light on what this league will look like as times goes on.
I think I read somewhere that the goal of this league is to eventually put teams in locations that don't have teams. However, I didn't get the impression that the teams would be flung far and wide. The Tacoma Defiance were used as a potential model for the league in that the Defiance trained at the same facility as the Sounders on a daily basis but played 30 miles south of Seattle in a different city. I think the vision is to give players a sense of being your own team playing in your own venue rather than on a field turf practice facility of the parent club. In reality the Defiance is the Sounders 2 but they appear like their own team. I'd assume North Texas is a similar model. Probably a better way to look at it is like AAA baseball where the affiliates are fairly close to the big club. I also read that the plan is to have the games streamed but how and on what wasn't determined at this point.
Here’s my thought of the day. MNP seems to be writing the script as the movie is filming. Lots of fluidity of what this will end up looking like. So far MLS has not increased the homegrown contract limits of 10 max. We are seeing a record number of American transfers overseas in this window. With GA Cup coming soon in April and the high likelihood of foreign scouts interested in young American players (along with a lot of games streamed online), is it likely teams will sign a lot of what I’ll call “homegrown prospects” to MNP contracts? MNP will also offer scouting opportunities and even more video. I know when Dallas was at their max they signed players to USLC deals. As did several other clubs. Now that some players are starting to transfer out of that league (USLC), is it possible we will see MNP transfers for younger, more raw players? Will owners invest in prospects before age 18 so they have a say in transfers instead of letting players walk and hoping for a solidarity check?
Roster rules from the league: https://www.mlsnextpro.com/legal/2022-mls-next-pro-roster-guidelines.html
Those rules are a lot more open than I thought. I will find it fascinating to watch the teams that have a proven youth academy pipeline build out their teams. The Unions, the FC Dallas, and well I guess thats it for now. Union are already rumored to be signing a bunch of younger south americans to fill out the team, along with their normal academy players.
If MLS wants that, and I don’t think it’s wrong in theory, they have to play most/all their games on one day. You cannot expect these reserve teams to always play a day or two after the first teams when you usually have MLS games on 3-5 days of a given week. That’ll create crazy schedules. Doesn’t seem too likely IMO because MLS is always dealing with TV windows where they can air MLS games on National TV and when they can use certain stadiums that other sporting teams will use. It’s still very much a minor league operation, which makes it nearly impossible to have the reserve teams all play a day after the first teams.
Also, easier to travel together and don’t forget that coaches are likely interested in combined training sessions. If the schedules are too offset lots of things become more difficult. I expect that many teams will use MNP to experiment with players in different positions not worrying too much about the results. First team coaching staff will want to be in attendance if possible.
First team to release their roster. Relevant names IMO are Wagoner, Faupel, Heard, Maher, Volmar, and Perez. From #STLMade talent to pros with some experience under their belt, our @MLSNEXTPRO team will be a launching pad for players — and a test lab for our coaches. #STLCITY2 x #TheFutureIsNow📝: https://t.co/8CYGWif9NH pic.twitter.com/6NPhMqjlAb— St Louis CITY SC (@stlCITYsc) February 7, 2022
Indeed. Liga MX does that, right? The U20s and senior teams travel together and they play doubleheaders as much as possible. And Liga MX doesn't have the same travel challenges that MLS has because so many of their teams play in a few major metropolitan areas. MLS Next Pro will be a money drain on their clubs. Of course they're going to try to save costs where they can. Travel costs are one of the big expenditures.